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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE ACTING EDITOR STAFF WRITER CTA WEB EDITOR CTA WEB EDITOR It's time everyone paid their fair share CTA HAS FOR many years been con- cerned about the enormous gap in Califor- nia between the haves and the have-nots — a chasm that seems to be growing greater and greater with every passing year. It's a system that weakens our public schools and our com- munities, and punishes the poor. The recent "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and elsewhere have proved that Americans agree with us: They are fed up with a system that neglects its disadvantaged members. Peo- ple have taken to the streets to demand job opportunities, to promote tax fairness, and to call on our wealthiest citizens and corpora- tions to pay an equal share. Tax fairness has been and will continue to be a key priority for CTA, so we are joining the national "Occupy Wall Street" movement to bring attention to the need for a better tax structure that provides stable and adequate We believe the way out of our current economic crisis is to invest in education and create job opportunities for America's working class. funding for public education. We believe the way out of our current economic crisis is to invest in education and create job opportuni- ties for America's working class. The numbers are startling: California ranks 46th in the U.S. in K-12 spending per student — a disgrace, considering our state has the eighth-largest economy in the world. Our state has cut more than $20 billion from schools and colleges, laid off more than 40,000 educators, and more than doubled college tuitions. Dur- ing this same time, legislators have doled out corporate tax breaks and refused to even let Californians decide whether to extend tempo- rary taxes. The result of all this is that our poorest and 4 California Educator / October 2011 EDITORIAL ASSISTANT WEB ASSISTANT WEB ASSISTANT PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT SECRETARY-TREASURER Dave Earl Carpenter Sherry Posnick-Goodwin Karyn Ferrera Donhoff Tiffany Hasker Craig Hamilton Tami Beseda Gladdie Cabral CTA ELECTED OFFICERS Dean E. Vogel Eric C. Heins Mikki Cichocki BOARD OF DIRECTORS José Alcalá, Larry Allen, E. Toby Boyd, Donald L. Bridge, Tyrone V. Cabell, Elana Davidson, Don Dawson, Dana Dillon, David Goldberg, Jim Groth, Terri Jackson, Marty G. Meeden, George Melendez, Theresa Montaño, Mary Rose Ortega, Cynthia Peña, Bonnie Shatun, Michael Stone, KC Walsh, Curtis Washington CTA President Dean E. Vogel most vulnerable citizens bear the brunt of the economic crisis and pay the highest per- centage of taxes. It's no wonder that people are taking to streets declaring they're fed up. The system is rigged against them. It's time we put our students and public schools first. Banks are being bailed out, and the middle class and poor are being shut out. The bottom 20 percent of wage earners in California pay 11 percent of their income in taxes, while the top 1 percent of wage earners pay under 8 percent. To turn this economy around, we need to invest in our neighborhood schools. President Obama's American Jobs Act would provide California over $3 billion, giving our schools a much- needed power boost by rehiring and protecting the jobs of teachers and other educators who provide essential services to our students and help keep class sizes from growing larger. We are calling on lawmakers to support the Jobs Act, which would put 37,000 educators back to work and create thousands of other job opportu- nities through modernization projects. The growing inequality and concen- tration of corporate power and executive wealth undermine the foundations of our democracy and the future of public schools and colleges. The health of California's public schools and colleges depends on stable tax revenues. Let's all make an effort to support those in need. It's time to demand action to restore fairness to the system and make sure everyone is paying their fair share. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ASSOCIATE EXEC. DIRECTOR COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER Carolyn Doggett Rebecca Zoglman Jonathan Goldman CONTRIBUTORS Scott Buschman, Len Feldman, Bill Guy, Stephen R. Harris III, Dina Martin, Mike Myslinski, Frank Wells EDITORIAL INFORMATION California Educator is published for the information and edification of CTA members. The editorial philosophy is governed by the policies of CTA. Articles and advertising reflect that philosophy. Letters to the editor may be sent to editor@cta.org. Publication of advertising in the California Educator does not indicate CTA approval of the product or of the companies that purchase advertising. 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